


Welcome Back

by SmolSoldier46



Category: Once Upon a Time (In Space) - The Mechanisms (Album), The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Post-War, Remember how Old Rosie practically saved Ts, Returning Home, Returning from war, Yeah were going there, the three bonding over war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27330214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolSoldier46/pseuds/SmolSoldier46
Summary: Ts returns from war with the Rosies.Can be read as polymechs but I just wanted some comfort between the three because I'm a moron.
Relationships: Gunpowder Tim & The Toy Soldier (The Mechanisms), Jonny d'Ville & Gunpowder Tim, Jonny d'Ville & The Toy Soldier, The Aurora/Nastya Rasputina
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Welcome Back

**Author's Note:**

> Ive probably messed up someplace in this so feel free to tell me. I will also add a warning about war cause its discussed a lot in this.

The Toy Soldier returned. It came back with blood staining their hands and a torn up uniform too big for them to ever fit in but it did return.

It was the middle of what they assumed was night and it had snuck in through an airlock as it had done oh so many times before. Dirt smudged across from their steel toed boots and made a messy path on the Auroras floors but she didn’t say a word, she might not have even noticed. Yes it was odd for someone to sneak onto the ship but it wasn’t a problem, more just an inconvenience for her since it typically meant repairs would be in order. So she didn't notice the bloody mud and pebbles or the odd stature and silence of their cheerful companion.

Jonny and Tim had just so happened to be awake though and as soon as they even sensed another presence on board they lept to action. The two argued like an old married couple but worked well enough together, so the situation seemed ideal. One target with no prior knowledge versus the two of them, a fun little game of hide and seek. The only benefit the wandered would have is the small amounts of alcohol that were running through each of the man's systems, not enough to kill a good shot but they might get lucky.

So the two were shocked to find their companion in walking slowly down a hallway with shaky steps. A bullet slammed into its shoulder but it didn’t flinch with the impact or make any noise, simply stopped to run their hand over the new hole. Their hair was knotted and caked with dust and mud and most of the paint on their face was scratched off. In other words the Toy Soldier was not in good shape. 

“Ts? Where were you?” Jonny asked, tone laced with anger.

This seemed to knock it out of its trance. “Oh! Nowhere Much Old Bean! No Worries!” It reassured.

The two though bad with emotions and much worse at telling the exact signs did not miss the nervousness in its voice as it spoke. It rarely ever seemed unsure of what it was saying and even if hurt gravely was quite forward in tone, usually chipper to be exact. So the uneasiness was concerning enough even without the whole situation.

“Ts, is everything alright?” Tim added placing the gun back in its holster as he cautiously took a step forward. 

It flinched back like a startled animal as it put its crimson hands up in defense. “Its all fine Tim! Everything is in tip top shape!”

The two men looked at each other hesitantly as it added on. “It really is! You don’t have to worry! Now if you’ll excuse me I would very much like to be let through!”

Hesitantly the two moved to the side bidding the midnight visitor good bye as it practically rushed to get away. Jonny seemed angry though not at TS themselves, in fact there might not have even been a target for his anger right now. Tim on the other hand was more concerned in general, this wasn’t like the Toy Soldier it was such a hyper individual who would always be happy for a chat. But there didn’t seem like much they could do right now to help except maybe clean up the drying blood and mud before an octo kitten ate it. 

The next morning was slow. Both of the men had decided it best to just talk the rest of the night until they felt too tired to continue, a distraction from what they had witnessed to say the least. The lead to both of them waking up on separate couches covered in haphazardly thrown blankets and for Tim a small bit of blood, probably from someone dropping him or the man rolling off the couch. 

“Afternoon disasters,” Nastya proclaimed. “You also missed a spot when cleaning up from whatever the hell you guys got up to last night.”

Jonny groggily groaned at the engineer. “What do you mean?”

She sighed. “The mud and blood, I have no idea what you did but just tell me if we got to leave soon, ok?”

At that it all came back to him. Ts was back and things were odd. “Hey Nastya had you seen the Toy Soldier?”

“No? Are they back?”

He nodded slowly getting out of the makeshift bed and stretching. “Yeah they got back last night.”

“I’ll let you know if I see it then, in the meantime me and Aurora will be in the engines, davai.”

With that the engineer made her exit to do heavens know what with her girlfriend leaving a still quite tired Jonny with a snoring Tim and an annoyance. Sure Nastya was not the only person on the ship, but if she hadn’t seen it then what were the chances anybody else had. On Top of everything it didn’t act like it wanted to be seen, it acted much more distant than before. 

So Jonny made the executive decision as captain of this ship (despite protests otherwise) to get to the bottom of this. It was his job as captain to keep everything in shape and that included his crew. 

“Tim wake up.”

The mang groaned but made no response causing Jonny to let out a deep sigh. Mumbling in frustration he grabbed the man's legs and dragged him off the floor electing a yelp as he slammed into the ground.   
“What the hell Jonny?!” he asked, rubbing his head. 

“We’re going to go talk to Ts come on.”

“And why did you have to drag me into this, why not just you?”

He paused for a minute before speaking again. “Cause two emotionally stunted morons makes someone with a brain cell now come on.”

He was expecting protest but the gunslinger just followed without much complaint as they walked down the Auroras hallways. What was nice about them not being good at housecleaning was the fact that there was still a slight trail that led to where the Toy Soldier seemed to head. This made it quite easy to find a vague sense of direction to where they needed to go. What was not nice however was the uneasiness when they arrived.

Faintly they heard humming behind a closed door they recognized as the Toy Soldiers bedroom. They had insisted it be given one and let them decorate as they pleased, and boy did they decorate. Quickly the wooden doll had begun to gather and make trinkets out of various things that had all been moved in, Jonny had never seen inside personally but had heard from the rest of the crew that it was quite interesting to look at. ‘Almost like a museum mixed with an overcrowded thrift store’ Ivy had elaborated. 

The humming wasn’t of any of their songs though, it was completely different from anything they had written. It sounded like it could be played passionately, with the force of a thousand armies if done right, but the way Ts hummed it made the thing sound melancholic and bittersweet. A tragedy in itself with the sorrow that followed the melody. 

“Go knock,” Tim whispered trying his best to not startle TS.

“Why me?” Jonny bit back.

“Because you woke me up and dragged me over here to help, I’ll provide moral support.”

“Like hell you will.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Better me than you, now go.”

Grumbling at the taller man he walked up and knocked the door far more gently than you would expect from the smaller man. The humming stopped and they could hear the frantic movement of fabric and small objects before the door opened to a still disheveled Toy Soldier. Its hair was a bit cleaner and it was wearing a different uniform but there were still holes and mud caking it.

“How can I be of assistance?” it asked as cheerful as ever.

Jonny was not the best with emotions, some might say he was the worst with emotions. So he froze up for about half a second thinking of an answer before Tim chimed in tired already of his struggling. “We were going to have tea if you want to join.”

There was a moment of hesitation before it responded, “I think I’ll pass today my good friend! I have many things to catch up on since-well since I’ve been gone.”

If the two weren’t already concerned about it then this was the real kicker. Ts was practically built in tea parties and would be thrilled just at the mere mention of one, sometimes it seemed they could hear the word from over a mile away and come rushing over, so for them to have no interest was more than strange. Tim seemed to pick up on the situation switching tactics.

“We can bring the tea party here Ts, we know how much you like them,” he said.

It seemed to ponder it for a minute darting glances between the two before it giggled.“Oh is this another joke! Quite a good one, got me well this time!”

“This isn’t a joke Doll,” Jonny clarified. “We actually want to talk to you.”

He could practically see the gears in its head spin as it tried to wrap around that phrase. It hurt to watch it struggle with the concept and in all honesty he just wanted to shoot the two and never speak of what has happened again. Then it spoke, and he decided he could stay around a little longer. 

“I guess we can take a break for tea than old chum!”

Jonny let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding on Tim took over yet again, “Great! I’ll get the tea and some snacks while you just get what you need done started. Jonny come with me.”

Tim grabbed his arm dragging him down the hall while waving cheerfully at the soldier until out of earshot, “Well that's not normal.”

“Oh really what tipped you off sherlock, was it the distancing or uniqueness?”

He fought back an urge to punch the smaller man and shoot him for good measure, “Look I’m about as happy as a drowning squirrel but we need to figure out what's going on. Can you get the kettle?”

The first mate grumbled a confirmation as the water began the process of boiling. Tim and Ts alike had scolded him so many times about the right temperature and time for each type of tea that putting on the kettle was both second nature and frustrating. Half the time it came out perfect and then the other half was saved for when Tim would refuse to drink it unless he made another batch. Jonny hoped and prayed to whatever god might care that this batch ends up being right the first time. 

As the water boiled the two gathered what they needed placing it all on a small silver tray. Tim was being quite detail oriented today as shown by the fact he picked Ts’s current favorite set. It often said it didn’t have a favorite set but you don't just end up using the same one every time at random. 

“So what's the plan?” Tim asked as he set out some biscuits. 

“You think I have a plan?” he asked sarcastically. “My plan is go in, ask questions, and try to not mess up.”

“That's hardly a plan.”

“Better then what you have.”

The two would’ve bickered forever if they hadn’t had a goal in mind so instead Tim gave on last glare as he picked up the tray and headed back towards the soldiers room. 

When they returned Ts was not necessarily better. It could see the two discarded uniforms as well as a box stuffed haphazardly around the room in an attempt to hide them. It’s outfit was now just a simple button down based suit that it had worn oh so many times before. Its hair was still muddy and face half scratched off but it looked at least slightly better than last night. 

What was suspicious was their fidgety movements as they moved about, the small shakes in their wrist and constant pacing. Even when they offered for it to sit the dear wooden doll continued to tap its foot impatiently. After what seemed to be hours of silence Jonny spoke up.

“Alright what's going on?”

“What do you mean?” it asked with nervousness lacing the cheerful words. “You’re not making much sense old chum!”

“I mean what I said. You went missing only to show up in the middle of the night with two uniforms and covered in what looks like gallons of blood and mud, you don’t typically do this. You like wars sure and you get involved almost every time but this isn’t normal.”

“I’m fine, I really am!” it insisted defensively. “Nothings wrong.”

“No Jonny’s right as much as I don’t want to admit it, you’ve never really hid from us before unless we’ve done something wrong. Is that the case?” Tim began.

It rushed to answer. “No! No you guys didn’t do anything this time, its completely fine.”

Jonny was silent for a minute just thinking through things. If it wasn’t them then it probably wasn’t the rest of the crew, to be honest they were really the only ones who were ever clearly mean to it, the rest of the crew was sometimes rude but not outright cruel. So that was off the table. He tried to reflect on the times they pushed away the Mechanisms and came up with only a couple times. Most times they had distanced themselves were for a game, typically hide and seek, but there was one other time. 

“Someone got hurt,” he mumbled, recalling the memory.

Ts always was a tad to compassionate for immortality and war was no acceptance to this. They had gotten especially attached to Bertie back when Tim was still mortal and after his death went missing for a while before and after working for the moon kaiser. Even when they had managed to drag it back on board it stayed relatively distant from the crew. What ended up breaking this pattern was seeing Tim around the ship. 

Ts’s face was a mix of confusion and worry as it tried to keep up its cheerful tone. “What do you mean Jonny?”

“Someone you cared about got hurt. Ts its fine if you don;t want to talk right now but we need to know how we can help you and-”

“Goodbye!” 

It got up and proceeded to exit the room at a brisk pace ignoring the two. Cursing under his breath Jonny got up from the chair intent on following the wooden figure until Tim grabbed his arm pulling him back.

“Now is not a good time to chase them down Jonny and you know that as much as me.”

“But its-’”

“Jonny, did I want to talk about Bertie right after being mechanised? No I didn’t. Will it want to happily share its stories of war right after returning? No it won’t. The best we can do is make this a safe environment for it and hope it comes to us for help.” 

There was a small moment of silence. 

“Did you learn that one from Brian?”

Tim punched him. 

It eventually did come back to them. Around evening two weeks later it ended up coming to Jonny in the comms room asking to talk to him and Tim later that night in a more private room. He agreed quickly and questioned if anything was wrong only to be told no. 

“I just think I'm ready to share, that's all!”

He nodded and later that evening the three were gathered in its room yet again sitting in a circle on the bed. It had a box that held the two uniforms as well as a variety of trinkets that neither of them wanted to touch. They waited in silence until Ts decided it was ready to speak.

“So I joined the Red Roses,” it began. “Infantry 246 with Rosie 1,918.”

It reached into the box pulling out a handful of dog tags. Each one had a different number but the same name on them, every single one except Ts’s that is.

“These are their tags, I collected them after they…”

“Died?” JOnny interrupted.

Tim hit him in the stomach with his elbow wearing a scowl on his face as Ts nodded. 

“They ordered me to stay behind to keep watch on the camp and deal with enemies from afar while everyone else rushed in. Even Old Rosie.”

They waited to see if it wanted to continue. 

“Old Rosies this one right?” Tim asked, holding up one of the dog tags. “What were they like?”

“She was amazing1” It began smiling like it was lost in thoughts. “A great leader with a tough personality who always took care of her troops. Missing an arm? Here's a replacement! Low on medicine? I can get some more! Need a patch for the uniform? Here you go! They always had a plan in case something went wrong. Well, usually had a plan.”

It turned a little more somber. “The group died during a battle. I was told to stay back and watch from afar as they went forward. If they didn’t die on the field they died of infection or injury shortly after. The other Rosies thought I had killed them, thought I had killed her.”

It curled up on itself causing Tim to put the nametags down and move over to comfort it. 

“I still have her uniform, one of the rosies thought I should take it and trusted me enough to let me run away. I gathered the dogtags myself though, before they could take them away.”

Jonny watched as it hugged Tim back going silent for a minute. “I miss them.”

He had never really dealt with loss to this extent, the closest he got was Bertie but that didn't really count. The two cared for each other, yes but Jonny always knew he was mortal, Bertie was going to die war or not, so he wasn’t that close. Tim on the other hand knew exactly how this felt and was trying to fill the roles nobody else had filled when Bertie had first died. He slowly pet through its hair like it was a child telling it how this wasn’t its fault and it was told to stay behind. 

“It's not your fault Ts you don't have control over your orders.”

“But maybe if I asked, if I questioned them a bit more they would still be here.”

“That wouldn’t’ve changed the order Ts,” Tim chimed in. “You don’t control what you're told to do and you know this.”

It sat there for a minute letting what he said sink in. “Is this how it felt when Bertie left?”

“Yeah, yeah it was.”

He didn’t want to talk about Bertie, not right now at least. The subject was a puzzle on good days and a minefield on worse. They had vague notions they could talk about when discussing the Moon Kaiser's war in general but Bertie was not on that list. 

“Does it get better?”

He paused a minute trying to find the right words. “It eventually will, just not quickly. It might stay sore even after but it does get easier to deal with.”

It nodded.

“Do you want anything?” Jonny asked awkwardly. “I can make you tea or go fetch something from the ship, if you want something back on the planet we might have to wait until tomorrow though.”

It shook its head. “Not right now old chum. I just want you two to stay right now.”

He nodded in understanding and moved a bit closer to sit with the two. It was late and it didn’t take long for Tim to fall asleep and Ts to go into what was more easily explained as a trance then sleep, either way it looked comfortable. He carefully moved the two a bit so he could grab one of the comforters and throw it haphazardly around the three.

“Welcome back Ts.”

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't posted in a while schools been kind of just kicking me in the shins so that's always fun. I've been working on another one-shot of Lyf so I'm going to try to finish that and then finish the Ts therapy story. It you guys have suggestions feel free to leave them too I'm always open to new ideas. 
> 
> Happy halloween despite this being posted nov 1st


End file.
